Failures on NHS maternity wards is making mothers afraid to give birth, claim a couple whose baby died shortly after being born
- One couple lost their son Giles after he was starved of oxygen for 21 minutes
- Read: Newborn boy died after just 16 hours due to string of maternity mistakes
Pregnant women are afraid to give birth because of repeated NHS maternity failures, claim a couple whose baby died shortly after being born.
Allison and Ruth Cooper-Hall lost their son Giles in 2021 after he was starved of oxygen for 21 minutes.
An investigation found inexperienced and ‘distracted’ staff missed warning signs and failed to adequately care for his mother, Ruth. Now the couple are calling for ‘systemic change’ in the health service as hospitals across England continue to be rocked by maternity scandals.
An inquiry into the Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust has already found that 300 babies had died or been left brain-damaged due to ‘repeated errors in care’.
Meanwhile, a new investigation at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust will look into 1,700 similar cases.
Allison (right) and Ruth Cooper-Hall (left) lost their son Giles in 2021 after he was starved of oxygen for 21 minutes
Pregnant women are afraid to give birth because of repeated NHS maternity failures, claim a couple whose baby died shortly after being born (File image)
READ MORE: Two out of five NHS maternity wards are potentially unsafe, report finds – amid concern over hospitals still promoting culture of ‘normal births’ after Shrewsbury and Telford scandal
Allison Cooper-Hall, a secondary school teacher, said repeated errors in maternity care are ‘absolutely’ making more women worried about their pregnancies.
As her wife prepares to give birth again next month, she told The Times: ‘The ”lessons-learnt” approach clearly isn’t working if the tragedies are repeated in hospital after hospital.
‘This isn’t an issue about individual maternity services in certain hospitals, it’s a system-wide issue about the safety of the whole maternity system.’
She said she feared that if similar investigations were carried out at all of England’s maternity services, the ‘same findings and patterns leading to avoidable harm will emerge in a significant percentage’.
Giles Cooper-Hall died from a brain injury caused by lack of oxygen at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth in October 2021.
‘Ineffective communication during multiple handovers’ was a factor in the death, a Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch report found. The family said they have now received ‘gold-star service’ from Derriford Hospital before the August 8 due date.
Allison Cooper-Hall, a secondary school teacher, said repeated errors in maternity care are ‘absolutely’ making more women worried about their pregnancies
An investigation found inexperienced and ‘distracted’ staff missed warning signs and failed to adequately care for Giles’ mother, Ruth
But Mrs Cooper-Hall said it should not take a tragedy to improve care, and called for hospitals to ‘listen to us as parents’.
A spokesman for NHS England said it was ‘taking action to strengthen maternity services, including through the recently published three-year delivery plan for maternity and neonatal services.’
Source: Read Full Article